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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

I myself am continuing my break from the Song of Fire and Ice books, and I'm currently reading the omnibus of the Rose of the Prophet trilogy (still in The Will of the Wanderer, right now). I think after these books that I'm going to revisit the Empire Trilogy by Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts -- it's been a while since I've read those, and I find myself enjoying the focus on politics more than I used to.

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Originally posted by entreri3478

The mass market paperback version was 645 pages but the font was a little larger than most paperback books

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Originally posted by entreri3478

Finished Jimmy the Hand by Raymond Feist. I thought the first 100 pages were good but the rest of the story was lacking for me, very disappointing. I usually enjoy Feist's books but do not care for these dual author books of his.

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Originally posted by Dennis


Now reading The Magician's Apprentice, the prequel to The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan.

I'm on Chapter 3. I liked it that the author gave excerpts of the historical account by one of the prominent characters in her prior books.

The main character, a daughter of a village Healer, starts to manifest signs of great things to come...and bad ones, too. It'll be nice to see Sachaka in its dual face: tolerant and brutal. Sachaka is much like FR's Thay, where magicians rule and slavery is quite common, and where one's worth is measured by his or her magical abilities.

With this book, I'm foreseeing long, meager-sleep nights ahead of me....

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Originally posted by Tyrant

I just finished The Greatest Show On Earth by Richard Dawkins, which I have been reading off and on for the past couple months. I didn't need any convincing on evolution, but it was nice to read the abundance of evidence and see how it relates to other fields of scientific discovery (mainly geology). While the information is text book in nature, the writing was more like a conversation with numerous side stories, examples, and personal insights. Some of the statistics make me weep for the future though.

Now I will probably read the third Hunger Games book. After that I am not sure. It will either be back into my stack of 70 some odd Realms books I haven't read yet or into some corner of the Star Wars universe I haven't jumped into yet. I am considering the X Wing series. It seems to get high praise and there is a new entry (Mercy Kill)coming out later this year. Somewhere in there will be more Marvel and Star Wars comics in conveniently collected formats.

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Originally posted by DragonReader

Finished Star Wars: Empire Vol. 5 - Allies and Adversaries (graphic novel)

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Originally posted by The Sage

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Originally posted by DragonReader

Finished Star Wars: Empire Vol. 5 - Allies and Adversaries (graphic novel)

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Have you read the other volumes in the Empire series, DR?

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Originally posted by DragonReader

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Originally posted by The Sage

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Originally posted by DragonReader

Finished Star Wars: Empire Vol. 5 - Allies and Adversaries (graphic novel)

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Have you read the other volumes in the Empire series, DR?

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Yep, I have read volumes 1-5. I think there are just 2 more, is that right?

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Originally posted by Dennis

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Originally posted by Dennis


Now reading The Magician's Apprentice, the prequel to The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan.

I'm on Chapter 3. I liked it that the author gave excerpts of the historical account by one of the prominent characters in her prior books.

The main character, a daughter of a village Healer, starts to manifest signs of great things to come...and bad ones, too. It'll be nice to see Sachaka in its dual face: tolerant and brutal. Sachaka is much like FR's Thay, where magicians rule and slavery is quite common, and where one's worth is measured by his or her magical abilities.

With this book, I'm foreseeing long, meager-sleep nights ahead of me....

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Now on Chapter 30, p. 451. It seems like Canavan does need to learn warfare to better her writing. I'm aware that wars/battles in fantasy do not necessarily have to be patterned to RW, but Canavan's way of depicting them are bordering on...'too hard to believe.' My euphimism for the 's' word.

That's just one aspect, but a VERY BIG one, since this book is supposed to detail that bloody, centuries-old war of Sachaka and Kyralia; and thus, something I can't easily ignore, nor 'forgive.'

In terms of character development, gladly, Canavan hits some points. Tessia's progress from ignorant to apprentice is gradually unfolded. The introduction of several supporting characters from the opposite camp (Sachaka) is also handled well, giving two points of view. The romance angle (or hints of) is fine, although a bit forced. But since Canavan is working it out in just one book (albeit a long one) compared to The Black Magician Trilogy (where the romance part is slowly and convincingly delivered), I'm more forgiving...

An internal conflict within Sachaka is mentioned a couple of times, but I don't see it. (Perhaps in the later chapters?)

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Originally posted by LastStand

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Originally posted by Tyrant

I just finished The Greatest Show On Earth by Richard Dawkins, which I have been reading off and on for the past couple months. I didn't need any convincing on evolution, but it was nice to read the abundance of evidence and see how it relates to other fields of scientific discovery (mainly geology). While the information is text book in nature, the writing was more like a conversation with numerous side stories, examples, and personal insights. Some of the statistics make me weep for the future though.

Now I will probably read the third Hunger Games book. After that I am not sure. It will either be back into my stack of 70 some odd Realms books I haven't read yet or into some corner of the Star Wars universe I haven't jumped into yet. I am considering the X Wing series. It seems to get high praise and there is a new entry (Mercy Kill)coming out later this year. Somewhere in there will be more Marvel and Star Wars comics in conveniently collected formats.

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I'll add my recommendation for the X-wing series. I found those by Aaron Allston (have not read Stackpole's yet) very entertaining.

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Originally posted by Yoss

Finished Brent Weeks' Shadow's Edge this morning. Now for the last part. I am still not overly fond of the very tv/movie-esque cliffhanger-y shifts at times between various plot threads involving different characters, and something almost rubs me the wrong way about the language. I'm not sure exactly what, since ive never been one to shy away from it. I tend to swear like a sailor, everyone i know tends to swear like sailors, and I wouldn't even call it gratuitous in those novels. It does serve a purpose, and modern day curses do that much better in this sort of setting (in conveying the brutality and dark grittiness) far better than fantasy curses, which often feel incredibly cheesy. But for some reason, I keep having to remind myself that even though it's set in a fictional world, a fantasy setting with magic/talent that doesn't exist in reality, and they fight with medieval weaponry rather than modern firepower, it isn't really as incongruous as everything else that falls under the genre that I've read has led me to believe. In this setting, people can wield daggers and hell "f----" when they get stabbed, and I'm just not used to it? Or maybe it is far more gratuitous (I am sort of inclined to think that Weeks went a little overkill on using it as his primary method to get a lot of Vi's characterization across, however...I'm not sure, to be honest). Otherwise, still enjoying everything else about the trilogy.

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Originally posted by Yoss

Finished Brent Weeks' Shadow's Edge this morning. Now for the last part. I am still not overly fond of the very tv/movie-esque cliffhanger-y shifts at times between various plot threads involving different characters, and something almost rubs me the wrong way about the language. I'm not sure exactly what, since ive never been one to shy away from it. I tend to swear like a sailor, everyone i know tends to swear like sailors, and I wouldn't even call it gratuitous in those novels. It does serve a purpose, and modern day curses do that much better in this sort of setting (in conveying the brutality and dark grittiness) far better than fantasy curses, which often feel incredibly cheesy. But for some reason, I keep having to remind myself that even though it's set in a fictional world, a fantasy setting with magic/talent that doesn't exist in reality, and they fight with medieval weaponry rather than modern firepower, it isn't really as incongruous as everything else that falls under the genre that I've read has led me to believe. In this setting, people can wield daggers and hell "f----" when they get stabbed, and I'm just not used to it? Or maybe it is far more gratuitous (I am sort of inclined to think that Weeks went a little overkill on using it as his primary method to get a lot of Vi's characterization across, however...I'm not sure, to be honest). Otherwise, still enjoying everything else about the trilogy.

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Originally posted by Nilus Reynard

I just started reading King Pinch again.

I found the book under the passenger seat of my truck (), with a book mark on page 3. I can't remember the last time I read it & have forgotten a good part of the story.

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